Seth Mitchell may have proved himself to be a heavyweight contender again.

Avenging his only career loss to Johnathon Banks, Mitchell reclaimed the NBO and WBC International belts and improved to 26-1-1 with a unanimous decision victory Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Mitchell, a former Michigan State linebacker, won by margins of 117-109, 115-112 and 114-112 on the judges' scorecards.

"I felt confident that Banks was looking to counterpunch only," Mitchell told reporters afterward. "I wanted to be smart and stick to my game plan and be disciplined. I felt I won eight of 12 rounds and at worst seven out of 12. He hurt me in the (third) round, but I recovered."

After first losing to Banks via second-round knockout Nov. 17, Mitchell was going to get his rematch Feb. 16, but a Banks thumb injury pushed it back.

Mitchell played linebacker for the Spartans from 2001-2003. Mitchell had 103 tackles during the 2003 season, but a knee injuries ended his college career early.